Valentina
Miksa

    I am a glass artist whose work is reminiscent of childhood memories, more specifically remembering a simpler time in life full of innocence, happiness, and wonder. A time where responsibilities were absent and life was worry free is what I try to convey with my work. I use pastel colors commonly used and marketed in toys for little girls; colors that I saw in my dolls, play sets, toys, etc growing up. These colors allow me to convey the childlike nature of my work. Making a material like glass look like plastic and vice versa elevates a cheap material like plastic but also makes the glass look more inviting and playful. These are colors that still bring me joy today, not only are they bright and fun but they are evocative of the toys that made me happy as a child.

    Working with a material like glass allows me to have another sense of wonder as it isn’t familiar, but more of a surprise in the way it’s manipulated. The play with transparent clear glass with the application of bold opaque colors to contrast and give the piece a more playful look and feel. As well as using objects and colors typically related to cheap plastics and using them in a material as extravagant as glass makes these memories feel more fragile and frozen in time. I like transforming cheap dress up items that I played with as a child and transforming them into a material such as glass elevates the sophistication of the object while it remains playful. It is now catered to the adult and not the child. I also take inspiration from toys that I enjoyed playing with as a child; with the context I have as an adult woman knowing the connotation of toys marketed towards little girls and societal conformity; I create work in response to that.